


Not Just Any Man

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Falling In Love, Fantasizing, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Heavy Petting, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kissing, M/M, Making Love, Making Out, Mild Smut, Non-Canon Relationship, Past Relationship(s), Past Violence, Post-Canon, Requited Love, Reunions, Sweet/Hot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 08:41:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11144898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Chrom finds himself embroiled in an otherwordly task-force called The Order of Heroes, he thinks he's finally seen all the strangeness the world has to offer. Of course he should have known better.Robin was forced to bid farewell to Chrom years ago without letting him know how he truly felt. Now, as a new recruit for The Order of Heroes, he may just get the second chance he never dreamed he'd have.Warning for sap, lots of kissing, and requited love.





	1. Chapter 1

“Order…” _smash_ , “…of Heroes…” _slam_ , “indeed,” Chrom hissed through his teeth as he nearly separated his battered practice blade from its hilt in a series of punishing hits.

Chrom of Ylisse was a legendary hero, or so the tactician named Kiran had told him. She explained it all to him as best she could the first day he’d arrived and despite his misgivings and fears, he could not help but trust her. Maybe it’s because something about her had felt familiar. Her scholarly approach to all tasks, her easygoing demeanor reminded him of someone dear to him and this comforted Chrom at least a little. 

Chrom was slowly getting used to being uprooted from Ylisse, becoming just one among many heroes transported to this place. When not battling, he explored the halls of this enormous castle filled with warriors, mercenaries, mages, clerics, and even other royals from Naga knows where. He was mildly surprised he had not yet run into anyone familiar though with endless worlds supplying endless heroes, the math might not work out.

Robin had always been the one to think of such things... 

Though Kiran, Commander Anna and the Askr royals had gone out of their way to make him feel as at home as possible, sometimes thinking _too_ hard about his situation made Chrom’s head spin. Tonight was just one of those kinds of nights. He found himself even more careless than usual in his practice drills as several unfortunate (and now ruined) targets evidenced. Chrom frowned at a headless training dummy listing to one side and decided to give up and take the rest of the night off.

He needed to clear his head, and apparently his default coping mechanism of violence towards inanimate objects was not working.

_Thinking about him isn’t helping. I miss him. I miss Robin more than ever._

Finding himself a member of the Order of Heroes was the strangest thing that had ever happened to Chrom, and he considered himself a veteran of the deeply peculiar. After all, his own moonlight-haired tactician had been one of the strangest--and most painfully _wonderful_ \--things ever to happen not just to him but to his family and to all of the Shepherds. Robin had been special—something so very different than a  brother and _much_ more than a friend.

Something Chrom had never been able to articulate.

_He just appeared in Ylisse, a man wearing our enemy’s garb, sleeping on the soil of my lands with the sun on his face. Alone--no idea who or what he was yet from the moment we found and woke him, he cared only about helping._

_Did he ever feel this lost, or this alone?_

If so, Robin had never shown it. He’d only smiled, again and again, encouraging, warm, just the right amount of dry humor tempering both his brilliance and easygoing manner.

Chrom sighed and placed the sword he’d been abusing back onto the rack of notched practice weapons. He was suddenly tired and wanted nothing more than to hide away somewhere for a while and to forget. Forget the enormous flash of light that had dragged him from whatever he’d been doing in the moment he was summoned, the waves of magic that assaulted him from all directions, the strange sensation of moving at impossible speeds despite the fact he didn’t seem to be moving at all then ending up here. Feeling a hollow loneliness, a man outside time, but still whole--existing in this world between worlds while unable to stop thinking about how Robin must have felt those first days.

Chrom made his way to the empty training area's back exit, his hand freezing on the doorknob when he heard footsteps.

Someone waited for him across the room, standing in shadow. He heard a hitch of breath.

“Is…is it _you_ ? It can't be. This is not possible.” A voice—a shockingly _familiar_ voice--addressed him.

Chrom stared, incredulous.

_No. He’s gone, and this is just another cruel waking dream, another figment--_

That didn’t change the fact that the man before him looked very real.

“Robin?” Chrom heard his voice crack in disbelief and stood gaping, not trusting himself to remain upright or even to breathe.

“Chrom!” Robin-- _his_ Robin--cried out his name, the joy contained in this one syllable nearly unraveling Chrom on the spot.

“It’s me...and you're really _you_? This is not some trick?” Chrom asked warily while at the same time his heart felt too large for his chest.

“Oh yes I’m me, I’m reasonably sure,” Robin said, shrugging away his hood so Chrom could fully see the sideways grin he had never forgotten. “I don’t think this is a trick, either. I saw a bright light, heard a voice call me and when I got here, Kiran explained it and truly, it seems no less possible than anything else we've seen in our days but--” Robin paused to breathe, eyes shining. “I'm rambling. Chrom. Gods, how is this happening?” He jogged over and stood near but not touching Chrom, his clever face alight with curiosity, his robe sleeves nearly covering the fingers of his outstretched hand.

“I don’t know.” Chrom shook his head, smiling so widely his face felt strained.When was the last time he’d smiled like this? He didn’t even think before closing the remaining distance between them but suddenly there he was, crushing his friend to him in an embrace he thought he’d never be able to give--that had over the years filled his heart with longing he didn’t understand.

He had long wanted to hug Robin with his full strength, willing his hopes into the other man with a fierceness that was too wild to contain. Now, here he was in a world not his own finally doing what he’d only ever dreamed.

"I thought you were…that you...” Chrom couldn’t finish the thought.

“I’m _so_ sorry. I didn’t want to go,” Robin murmured, voice muffled where it was buried against the bare skin of Chrom’s right shoulder. “But I’m here now.”

Chrom tightened his grip around Robin’s body, realizing he was hurting him when his breath huffed out unevenly. “Sorry, I got carried away,” he laughed, loosening his hold on Robin but not quite letting go.

“You never did know your own strength,” Robin said, looking up at him fondly.

Despite all the alarms screaming in his head, all the warnings to keep his distance just in case of loss and hurt, Chrom rested his chin on Robin’s head. He nudged lightly against that soft white hair, shaggy and tousled as ever. It only registered that he was still holding his tactician almost like a lover when Robin sighed contentedly, warm breath tickling Chrom’s neck.

Chrom blinked. His stomach cartwheeled and his feet felt as if they hovered miles above the ground, ready to tread the very sky and kick away stars.

_This is...what is this feeling?_

“I didn’t have any hope. I never dreamed I’d get this chance,” Chrom admitted, finally letting his arms drop back to his sides but feeling emptier without Robin pressed to him.

“I don’t understand it myself,” Robin said, his voice husky with emotion. “It doesn’t seem _real_ \--this place, being with _you_.” He paused, his smile fading. “I do not know what to do with myself.”

“Stay with me tonight--” Chrom started at the same moment Robin spoke again.

“Let me stay near you--” The words on his friend’s lips were more than a question. " _Please_." 

Chrom reached out, hesitant at first but shoving his inhibitions back down when he saw vulnerability tighten Robin’s expression for an instant. There was no real reason to hold back, was there? Who knew how much time they’d have together before they were parted again? He pressed his hands lightly to Robin’s shoulders, thumbs brushing his collar. Another thrill shocked through him at the contact and his face heated, but Chrom didn’t care.

“How could I _not_ be with you if you’re here? I’m not wasting a second of this. You just arrived today?” He emerged enough from this new state of emotion to ask a practical question.

“Mmm,” Robin nodded, smiling faintly. He leaned in closer to Chrom, reminding him of a plant angling towards sunlight. “I’m still disoriented, truth be told...you’d think I’d be used to that, heh.”

“I've been here a while and I'm _still_ disoriented. Lucky for you, I know this castle fairly well by now. I’ll show you all the best spots and help you get settled,” Chrom said, grinning down at the other man.

“And you can scare up some tea and maybe even sweets, and we can talk like old times, just no Gaius trying to steal our cakes?” Robin looked up at him, playful.

“I’ll do anything in my power to make you comfortable. Robin...even if it means stealing all the cakes in the Order's pantries. It’s good to see you, my friend.”

Robin regarded Chrom for a moment with an unreadable, intense expression that faded into his most winning smile.

“It’s wonderful to see _you_ , Chrom. So _very_ wonderful.”

Chrom’s heart thudded in his chest and his stomach dropped to his feet. He didn’t know how it had happened but suddenly finding himself a part of the Order of Heroes didn’t seem so bad--with Robin, anything had always felt possible and it seemed like that hadn’t changed a bit.

#

Robin followed Chrom through winding halls filled with flickering torchlight, unfamiliar men and women on their way to their suites for the night or heading to late practices, meals, or strategy sessions. A few of them looked as out of sorts and preoccupied as he felt, gazing ahead of them, eyes unseeing. Most were just going about their business as normally as if this place were home.

Robin knew how _that_ went...adaptability to the point that any tent, hard patch of dirt, foreign castle or village was as much home as anything else. He would have been fine here, left to his own devices.

But this--

He had never expected to see Chrom again. His heart could not register the reality of what was going on, thundering so hard it felt it might tear itself right out of his chest.

This, more than even finding himself in another world (really, he’d been through that when the Shepherds found him with no memory of who or what he was), was shaking him to the core.

_And the way he held me…was that real? I only ever dreamed such things._

Robin looked up at Chrom who was smiling to himself, hand hovering protective and warm against the small of Robin's back, messy dark-blue bangs nearly hiding his beautiful eyes.

Something in Robin’s soul ached, desperate and yearning.

_How did I not know that I’ve always wanted this? Him touching me, the way he looked at me...How can I believe that any of this is happening?_

They made their way to Chrom’s rooms--apparently, each hero was issued a sleeping and sitting area to provide comfort in the midst of the chaos. It was late, but Chrom always had favored sword drills at night, saying they helped him sleep.

_It’s how I knew where to look for him, hoping beyond hope he was here…_

“Sit. You have been shown your own rooms, right? Are you hungry? Ugh, I really do need to get out of this sweaty practice armor. Do you need to wash up?” Chrom pushed Robin down onto a plush settee, throwing questions and observations at him in rapid succession while buzzing about the cozy, candlelit room, full of nervous energy.

Robin chuckled.

“I’m fine. I _have_ seen my rooms, yes...and I’m comfortable here for now.” He grinned up at the other man who was waging war with his sword-belt and boot fastenings. “Hey, slow down--” Robin jumped up from the sofa in time to put an arm behind Chrom as he staggered, one boot now kicked across the floor, a candelabra nearly knocked over and one set of chest-guard buckles jingling as they flapped free. Robin laughed again, shaking his head at Chrom’s impatience.

That part had not changed one bit.

“Here, here let me help--you’re going to set the room on fire.” Robin worked at the fastenings of Chrom’s other shoulder-strap.

“Robin,” Chrom fussed, but lifted his arms so that Robin’s deft fingers could do their work. Finally free of cumbersome armoring, Chrom kicked off his other boot and edged in closer to Robin.

“You’re still in that heavy old robe of yours,” Chrom chided, tapping one of the oversized, embroidered lapels of the coat that was the closest thing to armor Robin had known.

“Hey, I happen to like my ‘heavy old robe,’” Robin complained but allowed his friend to push the garment back over his shoulders. Robin wriggled out of the coat completely, feeling bare in just his shirt and trousers. He had rarely let his guard down so thoroughly around his prince, worried what he might find himself saying or doing if Chrom ever allowed him closer. Their friendship was too valuable, and he was too needed by the Shepherds to jeopardize something that worked well.

Now, he chilled a little in the cool, dim room, wanting Chrom closer to him while at the same time not trusting himself to keep his calm.

“There, you look more comfortable now,” Chrom murmured, trailing one hand down the vee of Robin’s neckline so that calloused fingertips caught on white silk and brushed his collarbone.

Robin shivered. He reached up and covered Chrom’s hand in his, flattening the other man’s palm against his chest, holding Chrom’s gaze while he tried to wrap his mind around this sudden intimacy and what it could mean. Neither of them moved. Neither spoke.

Chrom drew his hand from under Robin’s and reached up to cup his jaw, his index finger brushing Robin’s ear teasingly.

“Did you ever wonder,” he started, face tilted down so Robin could only helplessly gaze into celestial blue eyes, “what it would be like if we’d met as just two men living our lives in a time of peace?”

“All the time,” Robin said, thoughtful. “You'd still have been a prince, and in peacetime, you’d not have had need of my tactics…we'd not have been close, I do not think.”

“I’d always have need of a mind like yours,” Chrom insisted, stroking Robin’s hair.

“You don’t know that--” Robin started but lost all words, eyelids fluttering closed when the one man he had silently vowed to protect with his life, his very soul--leaned in and pressed warm, gentle lips to his forehead.

“ _Ahhh,_ ” Robin did not realize the moan of pleasure humming in his ears was his own voice until Chrom backed away enough to take his chin in strong fingers.

“Robin, look at me,” Chrom murmured.

Robin obeyed, shocked to find Chrom gazing down him with an intensity that gave him the chills. “In the beginning, when we’d found you, there were times I _almost_ \--where I wanted to, and very nearly did not stop myself--”

“Wanted to what?” Robin whispered, voice shaking.

“I--I don’t even know. Get you alone and not go on about supply chains or positioning archers, but get you to talk about what’s locked inside there,” Chrom tapped Robin’s head with one finger. “Maybe keep you all to myself for a little while instead of watching you seeing to everybody else's needs. I felt selfish for even thinking it, but...I wanted you to be _mine_. My what, I didn’t know...mine to talk to late at night. To touch. To kiss.”

Robin could not hide the trembling of his hands, or the violence of emotion that welled through him.

“Why didn’t you do that?” He winced, immediately regretting his words.

_Because I was yours from the moment we met._

“I didn’t want to ruin your trust. I was a coward,” Chrom slid his fingers down the line of Robin’s jaw, hand coming to rest at the base of his neck.

“Not a coward," Robin admonished. "Careful, and for good reason. And so was I,” Robin muttered, looking away. “I didn’t even know who I really was. I could have been a spy, I could have hurt you. I _did_ hurt you--”

“Stop. None of that,” Chrom interrupted, warning in his voice. He drew a deep breath, a muscle working in his jaw. “You know, I _could_ kiss you right here and now.”

“Chrom, do you mean that?” Robin heard the desire strong in his own voice, so bared and raw. Then, sudden and too real, an image in his mind of Chrom’s wedding ceremony, his bride Sully grinning from ear to ear, a crown of flowers resting jauntily on her fiery, short hair.

And his own bittersweet romance with Say’ri--noble, brave, and the most unforgiving warrior he had ever known...they had both taken comfort in each other while they could and had both known it would not last. She sensed that something awaited him in the future, a heavy sort of farewell.

He himself knew that everything and everyone he loved eventually left him. He could not do this again.

“Wait. I--I’m sorry. What was I even thinking? You have a wife, a daughter--” He pulled away, panicking.

Chrom dropped his hands to his sides and looked away.

“What’s wrong?” Robin pressed, shocked by the grief he saw shadowing his friend’s eyes.

“She was a reckless, beautiful powder-keg to the end,” Chrom said, voice flat.

Dread flooded Robin’s heart, replacing the effervescent hum of desire with something dark and heavy.

“There was so much mop-up still to be done after you...well, after you left. Even a year later we found Risen in the wilder, less-patrolled lands, terrorizing remote settlements. Sully and her knights saved a whole southern village from a wandering detachment who had been hidden in a nearby forest,” he said quietly. “She took the brunt. Nobody but her--she was the only casualty.”

“No. I...Gods, I’m so sorry.” Robin had lost count of the times he’d said those words already today. Now, he meant them with a ferocity that he'd never felt.

“It’s been a few years,” Chrom replied, looking back at Robin with a sad smile. “I’ve had time to adjust and heal. And...I think you’d be happy to know that Say’ri has a beautiful temple memorial now, thanks to Lissa’s stubborn insistence,” Chrom added, extricating his fingers so he could circle one arm around Robin’s neck in yet another newly intimate gesture that unspooled Robin from the inside out.

He could not hide the abrupt sob that choked from him. He’d seen Say’ri fall in that final battle, had known she would die a warrior’s death and in those moments made hasty peace with it but thinking about it, imagining her grave surrounded by prayer stones and and flowers…

“I didn’t want this grief for you. For _her_ , for any of them,” Robin hissed through his teeth, willing the tears to stop, willing his friend’s and his own pain to fade, for it all to somehow be well again.

"None of us would think such a thing,” Chrom insisted, earnest.

“I-thank you. But what about the others? I should have asked first, ask about all of our Shepherds--”

“You were in shock, and I was too. Still am. They are well, to my knowledge--and peace has been good to us. There’s a lot of good these days in store for Ylisse and its neighbors.”

“I’m relieved to hear that,” Robin said, the words pitifully inadequate for the enormity of affection he felt towards his ragtag family.

“I have much to tell you, but mostly I just want to look at you. To get used to the fact you are here, with me--” Chrom edged close again. He pressed his lips to the top of Robin’s head, and Robin nudged his face into the cave of the other man’s neck.

They stood like that for what felt like hours--Chrom’s cheek resting on his head, Robin’s fingers gripping the muscle of Chrom’s right arm, bared so his Exalt’s brand would be visible to any onlookers. It felt natural to be this close to him...to idly skim the fingertips of his other hand along Chrom’s left shoulder blade, to breathe in his scent, a mix of faint clean sweat from his practice drills, and whatever soap he used when bathing in this place.

“Robin,” Chrom hummed, ducking down to skim warm lips over the top of his ear. “Is this fine, what we are doing? I am so happy to see you, and it just feels so easy, so _natural_ to...to touch you like this.” Chrom drew away just enough to look Robin in the eye.

_If he is thinking it too, maybe it’s exactly as natural as it should be._

“I’ve wanted this,” Robin replied simply.

 _Wanted this desperately, so much that it hurt_ , he didn’t say.

“I have too, apparently. Though I’m, ah, new to the particulars,” Chrom faltered, smile apologetic.

“Particulars?” Robin prompted shyly.

“Well, you know. Doing things of _that_ nature. With another man, I mean.”

“Ah,” Robin nodded, trying to ignore all the images flooding his mind of what specifically Chrom might have meant by _things of_ that _nature_. “So you’ve not been with another man."

Chrom shook his head. “I was to produce an heir--my duty and such. And I loved Sully, deeply.”

“We all knew how much you loved her.” Robin reached up and soothed one hand over Chrom’s cheek.

“What about you? Have you--” Chrom stopped abruptly, managing to look both abashed and sullen.

Did the thought of Robin with another man make him _jealous_?

“I don't know,” Robin shrugged, truthful. “I mean, I have not since I was part of the Shepherds. I do not remember being at all averse to the idea,” he added quietly.

“What I felt for you,” Chrom sighed, expression faraway, “let’s just say, it was something I didn’t understand at the time. I’d not given thought to loving another man before you, but you have never been just 'another man.'”

“You were not just another man to me, either. You were never just anyone at all to me,” Robin said, looking away. “You were...more.”

_I loved you. I loved Say’ri too, truly, but I loved you first. I love you still._

_I never stopped._

“What do you mean?” Chrom's gaze was bright, expectant.

Robin hesitated. He knew what his friend would see in his own eyes and while he was not ashamed of it, he was still so unsure. They had just come together. They were not supposed to meet again, ever yet here there were, talking about something Robin had long ago deemed impossible--mutual desire.

“You know what I mean.” The emotion thick in Robin’s voice gave him away.

“Hmm. I don’t know that I do,” Chrom persisted.

Robin stepped back, putting a little space between them while he tried to clear his thoughts.

“I mean lots of things. And as your tactician, I must point out that you haven’t yet given me tea and cakes. You just took off my coat and watched me be awkward and cry,” Robin joked weakly, trying to lighten the mood.

Chrom looked so stricken in that instant that Robin almost pulled him back to his chest.

His friend beat him to it.

Even if Robin had wanted to get away, Chrom had always been faster than him, agile and far stronger than his lean physique would lead one to believe. Robin found himself again bundled in his friend’s arms, a new urgency to Chrom’s touches that made him watery-kneed and weak. One hand raked through Robin’s hair and the other tugged so hard at his shirt that the buttons strained as Chrom struggled to free it from where it was tucked tightly under his belt.

The sound of fabric ripping tore through the silence.

“Chrom!” Robin looked up at him, eyes wide.

“You said yourself that I don’t know my own strength,” Chrom grinned, not at all apologetic as he wrangled what was left of the shirt over Robin’s head, mussing his hair even more. Robin found himself half-naked, Chrom’s hands skimming over his back, his chest, hot and claiming and everywhere at once.

He had never felt anything so incredible. He watched Chrom's forefinger drag down the middle of his chest, fair against Robin's olive skin.

" _Yes_ , Chrom," he breathed, barely registering the words as his own.  

Chrom cursed softly. 

"What is it?" Robin asked, worried he'd done something wrong.

"Just, ouch. You’re too damn beautiful. Even better than my daydreams and those were pretty good," Chrom rasped, gripping Robin’s side so hard it hurt. 

Robin circled his arms around the other man’s neck.

“If you think I’m beautiful, then do something about it," he said, voice unsteady. 

"You're daring me to make a move on you?" Chrom raised a brow, challenge evident in his cocky grin.

"Yes, I suppose I am. So kiss me,” Robin demanded, surprised at his own boldness. “Kiss me like we’ve both wanted. Please?" 

Chrom didn’t bother with words. He ducked in, barely feathering his lips over Robin’s in a mere suggestion of a kiss, warm breath tickling at his skin. He smiled softly against Robin’s mouth then lightly kissed one cheek then the other, trailing his lips along the line of Robin’s jaw before skimming over his mouth again.

Robin shuddered. He’d never have taken the headstrong, impatient man he knew for a tease. Robin nudged his chin up, trying to press his mouth against Chrom’s but the other man dodged to the side, dragging the warm, wet tip of his tongue just under Robin’s earlobe and down, over the jut of his Adam’s apple.

“Nnnnhhh…” Robin groaned, his entire body alight and craving. “You’re teasing me. Hurry up and kiss me properly,” Robin pleaded, breathless.

“Have patience for the long game--isn’t that what you always told me?” Chrom taunted, voice resonating against Robin’s neck.

“Now of all _mmmm_ ...” Robin’s eyes closed, his head thrown back as Chrom’s gentle teasing intensified, teeth scraping the base of his neck. “...times. _Gods,_ you are cruel.”

“Yes, now,” Chrom whispered, nails tickling down Robin’s naked back. “Now is what we have,” he added before pushing Robin towards the half-made bed, some piece of furniture or other toppling in his wake.

“Chrom--” Robin cried out as Chrom shoved him onto the rumpled coverlet and lay, heavy and warm, over him, kissing his face, his neck, the tops of his shoulders with little wet smacking sounds.

“Is this good?” Chrom murmured between kisses, daring a brush of tongue over Robin’s left nipple to punctuate his questions. "Or would you rather I _kiss you properly_?" He shifted so that he could abuse Robin's other nipple, bolder and far less gently than before.

“Ahh!” Robin arched into the contact, his body alight with sensation. “S-so good,” he managed brokenly. "D-don't stop."

“Mmm,” was Chrom’s only reply as he kissed lower, leaving scatters of goosebumps in his wake. The heat of his breath and weight of his lips sent shocks of white-hot pleasure all over Robin's body, exquisite and maddening. He swirled that same wicked tongue down the trail beneath Robin's navel, prodding just beneath the cotton of his smallclothes before abruptly pulling away.

"No," Robin protested, but Chrom just chuckled in that infuriatingly easy way of his.

“Yes. I want to really feel you against me. Get me out of this,” Chrom huffed, drawing himself upright so that he knelt, straddling Robin where he lay on his back. He tugged roughly at his vest, threads holding the buttons in place stretched dangerously tight.

Robin pushed Chrom’s hands away, going to work more carefully on the rows of fastenings.

“There are far too many of these,” he muttered, playfully poking Chrom in the ribs.

“Yes, yes there are,” Chrom agreed, voice husky and low. "So hurry?" He dragged his finger over Robin’s lips, distracting him and hampering his efforts.

“You’re making my hands shake,” Robin said, and he meant it. Each new touch drove him closer to some precipice, the promise of pleasure second only to the surging tides of emotion he felt for the other man--love, need, hope--almost too much to bear.

“I’m sorry.” Chrom did not sound at all contrite but moved his hands out of the way, lifting his arms to allow Robin ease of access. After much fussing, Chrom peeled away his uniform vest and sleeve, tossed his belt to the floor, and lay back over Robin, this time nibbling his left ear.

Robin could barely breathe. Chrom pinned him to the bed with his body, one arm sliding under his shoulders to draw him close so the other hand was free to roam while he tormented Robin with those never-ending, not-quite kisses.

It hurt. Hurt in a good way--a consuming heat Robin welcomed. He circled his arms around Chrom, his fingers curling into the muscle of his friend’s naked back and shoulders, sliding lower, exploring the line of his spine down to the curve of his backside, still covered in dark blue trousers. Chrom’s skin was warm against his fingertips and Robin felt just a hint of sweat at the small of his back, every inch of him lean and toned and powerful.

“Chrom, I need--” Robin started but was interrupted by the hot, wet press of lips to his own.

 _Finally...thank the gods,_ finally…

Chrom’s kiss was no longer teasing. He held Robin down by both arms and thoroughly lavished his lips with attention, claiming and earnest. Robin felt himself respond--opening, pressing his tongue to Chrom’s lips, begging admittance. Chrom did not hesitate to let him in. His kisses grew careless and frantic. He slid his tongue over Robin’s with low, ragged moans and his fingers pressed, bruising-hard, into Robin’s skin.

Robin let himself be crushed and devoured. He begged it, looping one leg awkwardly around Chrom’s, scraping his short fingernails over his friend’s back.

They kissed, and they kissed...and kissed more, and it was everything Robin had never dared to hope for.

It was _perfect_.


	2. Muscle Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin asks Chrom the nature of the daydreams he admitted to earlier...Chrom is more than happy to show him exactly what his favorite one entailed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little bit more NSFW as Chrom and Robin indulge in each other after years of pining and mutual desire. It's a tad rough/unedited at this point since I had to write in a hurry, but I really hope you enjoy it! <3

Chrom kissed Robin like he was made for it. Like his life depended on it.

The taste of the other man’s warm olive skin, the way his chest and belly moved with his erratic, quickened breath, the way his narrow hips lifted and slender fingers curled around his own where Chrom held him down…It all made him dizzy. He’d not known desire could almost hurt. That just kissing could make him feel like he was leaving his own body, floating away…

_Dizziness like hunger or a fever. Wait--_

Chrom realized that in his need to cover every bit of Robin’s body he could reach with kiss or touch he’d not breathed enough--or at all. He backed away from Robin who angled his face upwards, still chasing his kiss.

“Hold, Robin. Have mercy--just for a moment.”

“S-sorry,” Robin panted from underneath him.

Chrom lay over Robin, struggling to catch his breath. “I really need to remember I can't live without air.”

“Oh yes, air is good. I think maybe you need to remember to shave, too? I’ve been kissing sandpaper,” Robin laughed, breathless himself.

“That didn’t stop you from coming for more,” Chrom crushed Robin tightly in his arms for a moment in a fierce need to assert himself, to say to _Robin, you’re_ _finally mine_ with more than just words.

“I’ll kiss my lips raw if it means they’re touching _you_ ,” Robin murmured against him. He lay half-wrapped around Chrom, one of his legs holding Chrom in place, deceptively strong.

 _Mine...I want this man to be_ all _mine._

“Robin…” Chrom released Robin’s arms a little and rolled with a powerful twist of his body, dragging the smaller man along with him.

“ _Oomphf_ , what are you doing?” Robin huffed as he fell against Chrom where he now lay on his side.

“Being clumsy. Gods, I’m a blunderbuss,” Chrom chuckled apologetically.

Robin just propped himself on his elbow and grinned.

“Well, don’t be so quick to refute me,” Chrom teased in feigned offense. He lay there for a moment in silence, watching Robin watching him, their breath slowing.

 _Those golden eyes. That little coy smile on those lips...mmm. Those_ lips _._

Chrom reached over and slung one arm around Robin’s shoulders, pulling him closer than before. “You nearly made me faint away just from kissing you. What magic is this?”

Robin blinked, suddenly looking more shy than Chrom had ever seen him. He nestled deeper into the pillow where he lay and thought a moment before replying. “Probably the kind of magic where…” he stopped  short, took a breath and continued. “...where I have wanted you for so long that I can’t stop myself. Where everything I do will show my heart.”

“That is powerful magic,” Chrom smiled, his own heart so overfull he was sure joy had to be spilling out, showing on his face.

“So, Chrom?” Robin slipped one hand from between them, skimming Chrom’s bicep. The gesture felt strangely intimate to Chrom, who shivered under his tactician’s light touches.

“So, Robin?” Chrom echoed, trying to keep his voice casual and light.

“You said something about--about daydreams. About this, what we are doing now, being better than any of them. Does that mean you fantasized about me?”

Chrom closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. “Oh, did I ever, I’m a little embarrassed to say.”

“Mmm,” Robin hummed close to his ear. Chrom opened his eyes to see Robin watching him again, tongue skimming his bottom lip. “What...what were they like? What did we do?” he asked, eagerness and shyness warring in his voice.

_Gods, does he know what that does to me?_

“Sit up, and I’ll show you my favorite.” Chrom could feel the tips of his ears go livid, but he forced himself to portray confidence he didn’t quite feel...something any prince learned to do early in his life if he knew what was good for him.

Robin scrambled to sitting, looking deliciously expectant.

“They usually start after a late evening strategy session. Everyone else takes their leave and only you and I remain, talking over those last little details like always. It’s late, cozy, the tent dark except for the candle by the maps.”

“So far, it’s _terribly_ realistic,” Robin nodded sagely. "What next?"

Chrom thrilled at the sight of the other man leaning forward in anticipation of what he’d say next, lips still full from the exuberance of their kisses, his hair gone from tousled to ungodly mess.

“And then, I notice how tired you look. You stretch, kind of worry at your shoulders like you’re sore and aching.” He paused, wavering for a moment in self-doubt.

“That is _also_ terribly realistic,” Robin shook his head. “Please don’t tell me I then scold you and threaten to go fetch Frederick and tell him how you need to be taking better care of yourself, have him nag you to your tent for a decent night’s sleep for a change?”

“Frederick does _not_ enter into it,” Chrom said, more heatedly than he’d intended. “No other man does-- _I_ am the only one you’ll see for the rest of the night.”

Robin’s eyes went wide, his lips forming an ‘O’ of surprise.

For a moment, Chrom thought about apologizing or making some excuse for his possessive outburst. Instead, he just held Robin’s gaze as he continued.

“I say something about how Lissa could fix that right up but you remind me how late it is, that we should probably retire. So, I walk over to you and--” Chrom paused again, this time to position himself behind Robin, caging the other man in with his long, still-clothed legs. “Well, something about releasing the neck and shoulder muscles from all that hunching over books and maps. How I know _just_ how to help with that.”

“Do I say something about how noble you are to always take such good care of me? About how chivalry, while a threat to longevity, does have its perks?” Robin asked. He scooted against Chrom, leaning his shaggy white head back at the same time he shifted his backside against where Chrom knew his desire would be painfully evident.

_He is so warm. He fits so well like this--against me, the perfect size to completely surround with my body, so close I can’t tell where he ends and I begin…_

“S-something like that,” Chrom rasped. He slid his hands up Robin’s arms, slow and deliberate, and began to knead the muscles at the base of Robin’s neck. “I tell you how your heavy old coat is in the way--yes, I know I said it earlier,” he added at Robin’s quiet laugh. “I help you out of it, of course--” he leaned in, kissing each of Robin’s gold-skinned shoulders. He heard Robin’s sharp intake of breath before he felt him arch his back against Chrom, even closer than before.

“Does that mean I made at least _part_ of your fantasies come true?” Robin murmured, voice resonating through Chrom’s chest.

“Oh most assuredly you did. Several parts. Because after I get you half-undressed and a little relaxed, I can’t help but notice how you seem to... _enjoy_ my touches. How you keep getting closer to me. So of course I have to kiss you, and that goes on for _quite_ a while.”

“Mmmm,” Robin purred. "Should we get back to kissing, then? I don’t believe that we were at it for ‘quite a while.’ Perhaps only a _little_ while.”

“You know, I think you may be right. You are my tactician, after all--you pay attention to the details, and I trust you.” Chrom drew his hands away from Robin as the other man wriggled, turning himself around so he was straddling Chrom, legs now wrapped around his back.

“After that first part of the kiss...would it then go something like _this_?” Robin’s voice was husky, his golden eyes dark.

“Like how--” Chrom started but lost the ability to speak when Robin ducked in and swiped his tongue over Chrom’s lips before positioning himself on Chrom’s lap in a much more intimate way than before.

“Hmm...I think your massage helped, Chrom. I don’t feel tired at all--” Robin breathed against his mouth before taking him in a deep, lazy kiss. “Is that how it goes, Chrom?” Robin added, pulling away for long enough to fix Chrom with a gaze that bottomed out his belly and shocked right to his toes.

“Gods, Robin,” Chrom heard himself growling, barely recognizing his own voice. He let himself be the one guided, handled, devoured this time. Robin kissed him relentlessly--sandpaper cheeks or not, his friend was undeterred by anything but his own desire. Lips and tongue explored places Chrom would never thought to be so sensitive or decadent--the top of his ear, the pulse points of his neck, the hollow of his throat and corner of his jaw. Robin rocked a little in Chrom’s lap, his own desire very much evident.

“What do we do now, Chrom?” Robin asked him, the words breathless. “How does it go from here?”

Chrom’s vision went dark for an instant, his need so powerful it was almost painful.

“That depends on the day,” Chrom managed, looping his arms around the other man’s neck to hold him in place. “Usually I take you to the cot, or the floor, or lean you over the desk and…gah. Robin...”

He paused, unsure of himself.

_If I do this--If I take it this far, there will be no going back._

“Hey there, Chrom,” Robin said his name, calling him back to the moment. His friend--his dearest friend, the friend he thought he’d lost forever--still sat in his lap, wrapped around him so that they languished, warm skin on skin but now his sweetness had returned, cutting through the fog of Chrom’s lust. “You’re a million miles away from me.” Robin moved one arm from where it had rested against Chrom’s back to instead card through his hair--so gentle even when those clever fingers caught on a tangle.

“I am sorry--I just, this is important. It’s _you_ , and you with _me_. I don’t want to do anything stupid.” Chrom let his lids close as Robin’s fingertips soothed over his hair and down the back of his head to his neck.

“No sorries,” Robin whispered. “No more sorries with me, ever. Lay down, Chrom. Let me show you how important this is to me, too. Let me show you how you made me feel just a little while ago,” he said, and Chrom’s eyes opened again at the unexpected firmness in his tone. He couldn’t help but obey, something that was entirely new to him.

He had scarcely settled on his back before Robin was upon him.

“Tell me, do I ever do anything like _this_ in the fantasies?” Robin nudged against him, breath tickling at his ear, then proceeded to kiss along the line of Chrom’s jaw, down his throat, the middle of his chest, tongue pausing to flick over first one nipple then the other.

The noise Chrom felt tear from his throat was thoroughly undignified.

“Just...doing what you...did to me,” Robin murmured between kisses down Chrom’s torso.

“Did I do it _that_ well?” Chrom managed while stifling another moan.

“Likely better,” Robin said, and pressed a prolonged kiss just beneath Chrom’s navel.

“Not possible.” Chrom closed his eyes and let himself bask in what was happening to him. Robin’s hair tickled over the skin of his stomach, perfect little presses of soft lips, wet warmth, and even gentle bites chasing away all thought, all worry--all ability to reason. “Robin,” he heard himself say, almost as if from outside himself.

“Mmm?” Robin paused what he was doing with his tongue, pushing just beyond the waistband of his trousers just as Chrom had done to him.

“You always wanted this? With me?”

Robin looked at him for a long moment, then slid up Chrom’s body, lying flush against him, burying his face in Chrom’s neck.

“Yes. I always did.” Robin did not hesitate to answer.

Chrom let that sink in, Robin’s honesty working its way through the last vestiges of his nervousness, his fear of what might happen if he said what he wanted to say next.

“And you?” Robin asked, his voice careful.

_Say it. Tell him now. Be honest with him like he is with you._

“I did, always. Let me show you the rest of the daydream, Robin,” Chrom said, words low and rough. He pushed gently, encouraging Robin back to sitting and moved so that they were as before, Robin straddling him, arms around his neck.

“Please,” Robin whispered and didn’t look away, his light brown cheeks a shade darker.

“So...I move us to your cot, or the floor and when we take a break from kissing, I look at you and I know I have to say it.”

“Say what?” Robin asked softly, right on cue.

Chrom inhaled shakily, burying one hand in his friend’s messy hair.

“Say, ‘I love you, Robin.’ You make me feel things I didn’t know I could feel. You make me want to be brave and stupid and protective all at once. You make me feel like _me_ \--the me I really am under the royalty and responsibility and...everything.”

“ _Chrom--_ ” Robin stilled in his lap, hand tightly gripping his shoulder.

“I _love_ you, Robin, body and soul. I never feel more real than when I’m with you. And if you’ll have me, I want to show you. To make love to you--to teach your body the muscle memory of what I feel so that you never forget.”

When Robin looked up at Chrom again, his expression was fierce, pupils huge and dark.

“I love you too. I love you, Chrom. Not just as a friend, not as a brother. I...am yours, entirely. I always will be. Make...make me even more yours, _please…_ ”

Chrom bundled Robin to him, not even bothering to hide his arousal, his joy--just covering his face and neck in sloppy kisses before crushing the other man to his chest.

“I thought you’d never ask,” he sighed into Robin’s neck before enthusiastically ridding him of the rest of his clothes.

#

Robin would not remember the preparations. The awkward digging through drawers and supply kits for oil, the rearranging of bedding, the strangeness of navigating who would do what, and how, and would it hurt, really, and getting tangled in sheets or having smallclothes caught on an ankle in pure, mad haste…

He would recall, a little, the fastidious care Chrom showed in making sure he was ready--Robin balanced on the soft bed on his hands and knees, the other man touching reverently, trembling every bit as much as he was. That first, tentative entry--pushing past the pain, feeling out boundaries--

What he would remember the _most_ about his first time with Chrom was the wild, honest sweetness. The way Chrom, still sweaty from earlier exertions and his practice session, smelled like heaven--male, musky and immediate. The way his body fit over Robin’s, how well he fit under Chrom when he moved to his back so they could watch one another’s faces.

How Chrom’s eyes were wide with disbelief, with awed pleasure--as if he could not wrap his mind around the fact that he was making love to Robin or the fact that Robin was begging for more, vocal and unashamed.

Robin surprised himself with how loudly encouraging he was, and Chrom surprised him with his deliberate sweetness that always remained, even when he was setting a truly athletic pace, never so completely lost in his own pleasure that he neglected to adjust the angle to hit a sweet spot, or to move his hand to work between them, taking proud charge of Robin’s pleasure.

Robin would definitely remember the moment he went more than a little deaf and blind just after screaming Chrom’s name in a voice he would never have recognized as his own, his body a conflagration of heat and light and raw pleasure. And most of all, Robin would never forget the way Chrom’s brow had creased, a look of such true adoration on his face as he called out Robin’s name long and low, the word trailing into nothing but a broken moan as his rhythm faltered and he flooded Robin with heat.

Robin would never forget Chrom finally rolling off him, his own body feeling strangely empty but then both of them lying there in a sweaty mess...how he’d never felt more awake in his life, even though stupefied by pleasure.

Awake and asleep. A dream in real time. An impossibility made possible…

“Robin, _Gods_...what was that?” Chrom rasped, his voice wrecked.

“I was hoping you’d tell me,” Robin countered, grinning over at his friend.

_No, at my lover._

Chrom rolled over and dragged Robin close to him, his hand accidentally trailing through the tackiness on Robin’s stomach.

“You’re sticky _and_ slippery at the same time. Impressive,” Chrom laughed, no disgust or shame in the words.

“Your fault, I seem to recall,” Robin teased, giggling himself as Chrom wiped his soiled hand over the sheet to their side. “And Chrom, you’re going to have to _sleep_ in that.”

“Oh. Damn it, you’re right,” Chrom pulled a face, then shrugged. “It’ll dry. Eventually,” he added, staring for a moment at his hand, an oddly pleased smile on his face.

Robin sighed in utter contentment, his pleasure still fizzing in his awareness like the buzz from a strong drink.

“Chrom, there’s...there’s something I need to ask you,” Robin said, propping himself on his elbow to fix the other man with a serious gaze.

“I...anything. What is it, Robin?” The look of worry that schooled Chrom’s features was so sudden Robin was nearly taken aback.

“Were you lying about there being sweets and tea? Will you keep me here forever, no cakes, no cookies no--”

“You little--” Chrom had reached over and snatched up a pillow to smack over Robin’s face faster than Robin would have ever expected. He laughed from under the fabric, feeling Chrom shifting closer before he lifted up the pillow and accosted him with a kiss so gentle, so sweet it nearly made his toes curl.

“You know,” Robin whispered as his friend let him breathe again, “nevermind. I think this is sweet enough for even the most stubborn craving.”

Chrom’s laugh was big and loud, echoing through the room.

“I really do love you, Robin,” he said through another gale of laughter, falling back on his pillow.

“I love you too, Chrom. And tea or no, I always will.”

_Because in every lifetime, and every land--I will always love him to the end._

_He will never be just any other man...he will always be my world._

 

**Author's Note:**

> I always loved the dynamic between the male avatar and Chrom--they had an intensity to their relationship that I kinda felt the female MU lacked. Don't get me wrong--I love lady!Robin but I am a sap for m/m Chrobin, and the ending of Awakening makes me so sad every time that I had to make it better. This is a bit unedited and I wrote it to make myself happy in the middle of RL crap, but I hope you like it anyway. :3 Also I'll likely add one or two more chapters, the next one likely with more of Chrom's PoV.
> 
> Trufax, I do have a Chrom and male Robin that I sometimes put on the same Heroes team doing training towers b/c yeah I'm sappy like that. <3


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